Amen guava and Stiddy as well.
Nothing can beat practice, practice, practice. I "only" have A+ certification. Thats it. No MCP, no MCSE, no CCNA, no CCIE.
I've always learned better on my own. The key difference between the "guru" and the "average admin" all comes down to resources. Im sure we're all smart enough here to be the best, and tackle whatever problem comes up eventually...but being able to quickly find precise information aiding in a problem is paramount in upper-level positions. I cant stress this enough. USE the internet for your information..somewhere, somehow - someone most likely has dealt with whatever problem any of us would encounter...being able to find the solution quickly is key. Learn from it - and I believe if you have the right mindset, you will learn more effectively than reading any droning blah, blah book. Believe me..when an entire network is down, and you finally figure out why...you're not gonna forget that. The books are meant (as stiddy said) to aim you in the direction of the cause of a problem. If you understand the problem - you can more effectively implement a solution. Knowing a range of solutions is what will get you to a "normal admin" status..being able to pinpoint quickly, and eliminate the possible other solutions is what makes you one sharp cookie. There are problems where you cant "guess" what is wrong, and try a range of solutions because it will adversly affect operations - for that you need experience, and practice.
The difference between a paper MCSE, and "real" MCSE is experience. MCSE's with are not as highly regarded as they used to be - too many good test-takers with questions memorized got past, and choked in the real-world.
Personally, I dont think any certification test is worthy of assessing one's skills..its great for a baseline, but dont count on it to prepare you for what is ahead. People are expecting you to know a lot more than what was on your MCSE test.

You need to know COMPUTERS, and NETWORKING -not just Microsoft products. Ever seen a Microsoft router?..an MS Switch? You get my idea..
..just my 2¢ pbxman
Systems Administrator
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